Several bursts of the bright green light “dazzled” Captain Andrew Gill, causing him to become disorientated, Leicester Crown Court was told.

The judge said that Wright not only risked the lives of the helicopter crew, but also residents in the area had a disaster resulted.

Leicester Crown Court was told that the force helicopter was passing over Wright’s home in Croyland Green, Thurnby Lodge, Leicester, at 11pm on October 10, when the incident happened.

Wright was said to have been “larking around” with his uncle and pointed the green laser light at the cockpit of the helicopter.

The intense beam forced Captain Gill to turn the helicopter around, which also had two officers on board.

Stephen Kemp, prosecuting, said that after the light “dazzled and disorientated” the pilot, the police on the ground were immediately sent to Wright’s address where he admitted his “stupid” action and handed over the laser pen.

He told the officers he did not know why he had done it, but was “larking about” with his uncle.

Neil Wright outside Leicester Magistrates' Court.

Unemployed Wright (35) admitted endangering an aircraft, at an earlier hearing at the city’s magistrates court.

He also accepted the offence put him in breach of a suspended sentence relating to a battery charge.

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Sentencing him today, Judge Marcus Tregilgas Davey said: “Your actions caused the pilot to be dazzled and lose concentration – and caused the team to abandon their task which involved a firearms incident.

“It wasn’t just one time, over a 15 minute period there were a number of bursts.

An image from an unrelated 2010 case shows the effect of a laser pen being aimed at the camera on board a police helicopter

“The seriousness of this offence is blindingly obvious.

“You could have caused the death of those people performing a public duty and, as it was over a residential area, there could have been further fatalities.”

The judge said it was so serious that only a custodial sentence could follow.